Sugah & Spice (19 page)

             
A lovely table was prepared for them, with fresh fruit,
wine and
different
cheese
s
to snack on before the main course was served. “Mom this place is absolutely incredible. I could stay here forever and forget about the rest of the world.” Charlotte beamed at her daughter. “Is that right,” she asked, smiling. Sugah wondered what had her mother so giddy but enjoyed seeing her that way. They sat down looking out into the turquoise sparkling water. Sugah then noticed a pathway, lined with rocks and a flowing steam leading out over the water, to a beautiful boat. In fact, ther
e was more than one boat. There,
a small boat, medium boat and a massive boat set resting in their designated spot. Sugah smiled. No wonder Mr. Blakemore wanted a yacht. He didn’t have one there but he certainly loved and had his share of boats. She suddenly thought about “The Secret Passage” and what had taken place aboard it. Why couldn’t she get Coffee out of her head? The way he made her
body feel was insane,
she craved more of him daily. Sugah wanted to feel his body next to hers but knew that it was a bad idea. Charlotte saw her daughter deep in thought and immediately knew that her baby was in love. “So, what’s his name,” she asked, catching Sugah completely off guard.

             
“Excuse me! Mom, what are you talking about? How do you know I’m thinking about a guy?” Charlotte laughed, popping a
big red ripen
strawberry into her mouth.
“Sugah, I have been there and d
one that, Sweetheart, I know when there is a man involved. I could also tell by the way you look and act. Your hips and ass are rounder than what they were the last time I saw you. I am a woman and also your mother, so what’s his name?” Sugah was busted, trapped. She couldn’t get anything passed her
mother, had never been able to. “Mom,
can
we just talk about something else please. I really don’t want to talk about that right now.”

             
“Sure but you didn’t deny there is a man. I will respect your wish for now but we are definitely going to talk about who this young man is
,
and how he ha
s
captured your heart. I can see love all over you, Sugah. There is nothing wrong with being in love. You are young bab
y, now is the time to enjoy being in your prime.
H
ave fun and be happy. Life is too short to miss out on love.
Don’t push it away because we don’t always get to find it again. There is nothing
li
ke your first love, believe me.” Charlotte stared off into space a few minutes, with tears in her eyes. Sugah wanted to ask what she was thinking about but didn’t. She gave her mother a few more minutes and then told her about the upcoming fashion show she was in. Charlotte was so proud of her daughter.

             
“Mom, would you like to come? I can get you tickets and you can bring Richard
,
if he wants to come along. I think the two of you will have a wonderful time. We can have dinner afterwards. What do you say?” Charlotte blushed. “We would love to attend. Just tell us when and where
,
and we will be there.”
Sugah
smiled, sipping from her pina colada frozen drink. Although she wasn’t twenty-one, her mother allowed her to drink in her presence.
They
laughed and talked, enjoying each other’s company. When Sugah finally got ready to leave, the sun was beginning to set. She and her mother set there watching the beauty of the night make its entrance. The water allow
ed
the su
n to see its beauty, showing its
reflection, sparking in the crystal clear waves. Sugah could have stayed there forever. Such beauty was rare and she didn’t want the moment to end.  Before she got up to leave the house, her mother handed her something. When Sugah looked down into her hand, she nearly passed out. A set of keys, on a dolphin keychain, kissed the palm of her hand. “What’s this,” she softly asked her mother. “
Your keys, Sweetheart
,
the keys to your new home,” Charlotte said to her daughter. “Richard knew that you would love it. He wants you to have it. We want you to have it.”

             
Sugah didn’t know what to say. She covered her mouth with her hands to keep from crying out loudly. She shook her head in disbelief. There was no way she could accept such an enormous
and generous
gift. “Mom, I cannot accept this. It’s too much. Why?” Before her mother could say anothe
r word, up walked Mr. Blakemore,
Sugah ran into his arms like he was her father. “
I cannot accept this,
it is way too much, Sir.
I know you mean well and I truly appreciate it but I just cannot.”

             
“Oh it’s alright
, Sugah
.
” Sugah looked up at Mr. Blakemore. He had called her by her birth name. He knew that she had lied about her real name. She wanted to apologize but he winked at her, assuring her that it was their secret
,
and everything between
them
was okay.
“
Why don’t you
go
home, sleep on it and let us know something at a later date and time. The house is yours and isn’t going anywhere. I designed it with you in mind, so feel free to take all the time you need. The keys will be waiting whenever you want them. You deserve it. Your mother has told me about all of your
hard work
and dedication to your studies. I know that you won’t give up on your dreams and goals just because of a new house, right.
” Sugah shook her head in agreement. She wouldn’t give up on her studies or any other goal she set for herself. Now that she was a part of the organization, she knew that as long as she got assignments, she wouldn’t have to worry about money.

“Okay, I’ll think about it and get back to you. Mom, you are truly something else, you know that!” Charlotte simply smiled at her daughter, hoping that they had more time together. Since she learned of her condition, she didn’t want a day to go by without seeing her only child
happy
. Richard agreed. He wanted to make sure both the women in his life now were happy and he would do his best to make sure that happened. Having lost the love of his life was painful but finding Charlotte Payne was truly a blessing. The fact that she also had breast cancer, like his late wife, was hard to swallow but he would
d
o everything within his power to make sure she received the best treatment money could buy. He respected her wish to keep her secret from her daughter for now, but he
knew that
Sugah
deserved to know,
in case the treatments didn’t work.

             
That night when Sugah got home to her tiny apartment, she looked around. She loved the space but she also loved the house. Maybe she could keep both. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding her at her house when she wanted to get away. Yes, in was settled. She would take the house.
The apartment could be used as an office, a place she and Mark could study or anything else she wanted it to be.
Before she went to bed, she called Java to let her know that her mother and Mr. Blakemore would be in attendance at the fashion show.
She hadn’t asked about the meeting yet but promised Java that she could.
Sugah slept for the first time since meeting Coffee without dreaming naughty
dreams about him. Her life had indeed changed, and Sugah knew that it was only going to change even more. She hoped that it continued to be positive and not negative
.
Sugah
had a feeling that she was about to encounter a few bumps in the road, along her journey.
And as she thought about that, images of the woman from her class popped into her head.
 

Chapter 14

             
Coffee pulled up in front of Espresso’s house.
He hated being the bearer of bad news but it was something that couldn’t go overlooked or taken lightly. Mya had hurt Espresso in ways no one could imagine. She nearly broke him beyond repair. Coffee was there to help pick up the pieces, but then his world came crashing down too. Simone and Mya were vicious. They didn’t care about anyone or anything but themselves.
And now that Simone was in town, Coffee was sure Mya wasn’t far behind. He sat in his car contemplating a way to break the news to his friend. Espresso and he had been friends since high school. When Java came to him to help her get out of her situation, Espresso was the first person he called.
They were family, a brother Coffee and Java had always wanted.
A light knock on his car window, startled him. “What up, Coff, man what you doing sitting out here in the car? Bring your pretty ass on in here so we can watch the damn game,” Espresso said walking back into the house.

             
When Coffee entered the house, he laughed. There waiting in the game room was every type of junk food he loved a
nd ate whenever he and Espresso
watch
ed sports
. There was popcorn, hot wings, pizza, French fries, nachos, pickles and chips, candy, shrimp cocktail, meatballs and spaghetti, beer, soda and any other type of drink he might want. Espresso had a nice spread set out and Coffee immediately took refuge in it. Maybe if he got his belly full, he could relax. “Damn, you went all the way out but I ain’t mad at cha boy,” he said with a mouth full of nachos.

             
“Oh Coff, you nasty bastard, wipe ya damn mouth, dude. I don’t want to see that shit. You always did like talking with ya mouth full, huh. I know ya mama raised you better than that
. What the hell, bro, you act like you ain’t eat shit in days
,” Espresso teased, picking back up the plate he had obviously been eating off before Coffee showed up.
Shoving a hand full of fries into his already stuffed mouth, Coffee nodded in agreement. He chomped on the food before speaking again. “Man, I haven’t eaten anything all day long. I was hella busy today and what happened during my last class truly fucked me up, big time.”

Espresso stared
at
Coffee a while. He chewed on his own mouthful of food. When he was able to speak without spitting out food, he wanted to know what happened.
Both men smacked on their food, uncivilized like. Whenever they were alone, doing their man thing, they let all their home-training and manners go.
“It must have been some serious shit to keep your greedy ass from eating. I know how much you love food. Just tell me! Did it involve some stupid ass student trying to get answers to the first test? I remember that happened to you last semester,” Espresso snickered. He loved
hear
ing some of the dumb shit Coffee experienced with his young students.

             
Coffee wasn’t ready to talk about that now, he was finally at
peace
. He didn’t want the feeling to end so soon. “Nah, nothing like
that
yet
bruh,
but I bet it is coming.
I always have a few who think they
can just throw money or try to sweet talk me into giving answers, A’s and free dick. But you know ya boy ain’t having that nonsense.” Espresso pounded fists with his dear friend. They laughed, ate and watched the game. “I am so glad football season is back. I love summer but football is my shit. I hate that I didn’t go pro. We wouldn’t be sitting here right now, that’s for damn sure if I had.”
If only he hadn’t blown out his knee during training camp, Espresso thought. When the Steelers learned of his severe injury, they dismissed him, sending him home with broken dreams. That was a low point in his life but that all changed when he met Mya. She was there for him when he underwent surgery. She took care of him during his recovery and rehab
,
and helped encourage him to continue his education. Espresso thought for sure that she would become Mrs. Dexter Cole.

Coffee saw the faraway look suddenly appear on his boy’s face and wanted to know what was on his mind. “Hey, you okay over there, Dex? You look like you deep in thought. What’s up? I know you probably thinking about the, could a, would a, should a’s but all worked out for the best. Don’t constantly beat yourself up about what happened to your knee, man.”